GENERAL HOSPITAL PSYCHIATRY: COST OF ONE VISIT

By P. Gopala Sarma

Abstract

An analysis of patients attending general hospital psychiatry out-patient (OP) showed that cost of one visit was Rs. 201/- Management&apos;s contribution of the total expenditure was 68 % and patients &apos; 32%. Salaries accounted for the maximum-48%. This was followea by loss of earnings-17%. Drugs accounted for less than 10%. If MCI norms are followed, cost of a visit would increase by 61%, drug supply and number of patient&apos;s visits remaining the same. Key words: Cost, visit, MCI Various aspects of general hospital psychiatry were dealt with in Indian psychiatric literature, but the cost aspect was not one of them.. We are living in a consumer society, where everything is counted in money. The question of costs in treating the most widely spread diseases have appeared in medical literature of west. Modern health economics tries to establish costsdirec